Today there are many different ways of communicating via modern technology, such as PSTN telephony, IP telephony and mobile telephony, SMS, instant messaging (chat), video conferencing, voice-mail, presence information etc. It is common for people to have both a mobile phone, and a desk phone/soft phone. A mobile phone is very practical when the user is away from his desk, but when he is working at his desk he may in many cases prefer to use a desktop phone or a soft phone. He may also prefer to use a headset, as this allows him to simultaneously operate his computer, write on a paper, looking in drawers with both hands etc. It may also be desirable that the user's presence status on computer or telecommunications network is updated, when the user arrives at his desk. Presence status is real time information about a person's ability and willingness to communicate. Other persons on the same network or connected to the same presence service provider can be updated in real time with presence status of his contacts. All this relates to what is termed “unified communications”. An example of a unified communications system is Microsoft Lync.
A headset base unit is a unit, which is arranged between a headset and one or more telecommunication devices, such as a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) desk phone, and IP (Internet Protocol) desk phone, an IP soft phone (installed on a computer) and a mobile phone. The headset base unit normally comprises a headset holder for holding the headset when not in use. The headset comprises one or two earphones and a microphone. The headset base unit is typically placed on a desk beside a telephone and/or a PC. When the user wants to use the headset, he picks up the headset and arranges on his ear or head. The headset can be connected to the headset base unit by a wire or wirelessly. In both cases, the user's hands are free for other purposes such as using the computer or handling papers while communicating via the headset.
A mobile communication device is a broad group of devices comprising mobile phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants), media players, tablet computers etc.
US 2010/0081473 discloses a headset base unit with holder for mobile communication device.